When another week had passed,
She'd had enough and went at last
To find her wooden soldier boy,
And end his fling with this new toy.

She'd win his heart back with her charms,
And oil to mend his creaking arms.
She'd whisper nothings in his ear,
Feed him brownies and cold beer.

But when she came to Maize's house,
She found that wretched knitted mouse
Alone beside her fireplace,
A wicked smile upon her face.

SiSi 8:09am
Her blood got all mixed in with the ragu sauce she spilled. It mostly pooled up right on top of that creaky floorboard Lois nagged me about fixing all last week. That’s like irony or something, right?

She can’t nag me anymore, she can’t even speak with her tongue under the table. Plus she’s dead.

Hell, I spent most of my marriage wishing Lois’d shut up and now I’m wishing she could talk. That’s irony too, ain’t it?

Whoever killed her did me a big favor, not saying they didn’t. I just wish they hadn’t set me up.

flashfriday 9:40am

“Care for an adventure?”

“Not likely,” said the cinder-girl, twisting a rag over her bucket and frowning at the hag.

“I wish,” the cinder-girl said, the door creaking hollowly as it closed.

Here are the entries that made the shortlist

(1) Mallory Love 10:04am
Don’t speak unless spoken to, you’d say.
Don’t drag your feet, you’d say.
I don’t have time for this, you’d say. Week after week.
You have to be the best, you’d say. Harvard only accepts champions.
You will take over the firm, you said. There was never a choice.
You can’t marry her. You won’t, you said. A snag in your plans.
You’re better off, you say, tossing her wedding announcement aside.
The floor creaks under my weight.
Drop the gun, you say.
Don’t shoot, you panic.
The metal against my ear muffles the sound.
No, I say and fire.

I gasped aloud when I read this on the first go-round. Notice how the varied uses of "to say" informs the urgency of the story, and then at the end, it's "panic" not "say" in the last line. This is precision writing. And it's a complete story. This is amazing work.

(2) Nate Wilson 12:26pm
Once school ended, Ben and Jacob headed for the woods. They followed the winding mountain trail until they heard the small creak on the other side of the ridge. The boys clambered up and each took a peak. From either point, the old mill was barely visible, clothed in vines.

Inside, a gaunt figure slumped against rusty machinery, its arm snagged in the gears. The boys poked and prodded the body a while, till it stirred.

"Please... help me," the man said weekly.

Jacob dragged out water and crackers before joining Ben at the door. He smiled.

"Maybe next Friday."

Of course I was drawn in by the macabre story but then, reading more carefully, there it was. "Weekly" Oh my god.To use a homonym to twist the story is just plain ever lovin' brilliant.Then, when you read it again, you realize he's playing with more than just weekly. Brilliant stuff here.

(3) Emi PdeS 4:48pm
Don't like to brag or nuthin', but I’ve been lookin’. Been all over. Last week, I almost snagged one at Schoenfeld’s. But no. I tell you, nobody’s got any.

Course, that didn’t stop him from promising one to my kid. I told him, but it’s like he didn’t speak English.

A fine thing, promising a kid.

Real whiskers, but bad breath. Yellow teeth, creaky voice.

So Mama thanked Santa Claus, too. Thanked him with an ice skate blade to the neck.

There's nothing flashy here, no word play, no sudden twists. It's just good clean storytelling at its best, and like meatloaf and mashed potatoes on a cold day, it's comfort food. I love this entry and I'm not sure I can explain why, other than it's just plain good writing. Not to say other entries weren't but this appeals to me a lot. If you don't love it, it doesn't mean there's something wrong with your taste or your judgement. It's a subjective biz.

As always, you guyz make this a very difficult choice. Any of these finalists are worthy of a win, and picking one really shouldn't diminish the others.

In the end though, I had to go with Nate Wilson for that sublime word play with the prompts.

Nate, if you'll email me with your mailing address, and what kinds of books you like to read, I'll get you a prize in the mail.

Congratulations to all the short and long list entries, and many thanks to all of you who took the time to enter. I enjoy reading these contest entries very much. (In fact, I'm behind on answering queries today cause I wanted to read these first)

Congratulations, Nate! Also all the short-listers, long-listers, and honourable mentions.@JohnFrain, I loved yours this week! I was hooked at the first sentence; by the last I was shaking my head in admiration of the execution of your idea. Well done!

Great job, Nate. I also really thought Mallory's was brilliant. I loved John Frain's this week as well. Colin's made me laugh. Colin has that effect on me. Anyhow, great job everyone who entered. Fantastic work.

Amazing job - Nate, great entry - I can really see it all and those boys give me the chills.

@JohnFrain, yours was one I immediately loved on first read.

I also loved Kim English's piece, and French Sojourn's evocative line: "She lived in a drafty house, where cowardly windows watched the driveway approach."

These contests set the bar! BTW, a bit off topic, if anyone wants a read that sets the bar almost impossibly high, try A Free State, by Tom Piazza. A runaway slave pretending to be who he is?? Holy hell! - and the writing is absolutely exquisite.

Congrats Nate. Although, I'm another one that needed Janet to point out the complete brilliance of your story. Like Kregger said, skimming makes it easy to miss the jewels.

And congrats to all the other mentioneds, short-listed and long-listed. John Frain and Colin Smith also snagged my interest. And it's great to get a mention. AND it's a great Monday because I solved my computer woes of yesterday so I can actually get online and make comments. Sundays and Mondays are Very Important Days here in Reiderland.

Every time Janet posts one of these contests, I hesitate with my entry because they're all so freaking good. This contest was no exception. Wow, Nate, your entry is amazing. Fantastically eery. Congrats on the win.

I was only able to read the entries sporadically throughout the weekend (sometimes, Christmas is just too...too!) but congrats to all! I had to read through Nate's twice though because I did a double take the first time. Brilliant.

Congrats, Nate! Great job, and congrats to all the other short and long listers.

Cool! I made the long list!! What an honor. I almost gave this one a miss. I read over the words and nothing came to me except those rhyming pairs, which I thought would be too obvious, and I still didn't know what to do with them. Finally, I gave in to the poetic urge, which I hesitate to do because poetry's not my thing. Really. So I'm quite chuffed to be among these very worthy pieces. Thanks, Janet! :)

Gabby, I lurked forever without commenting or entering a contest because I was intimated by the sheer talent on display. If anyone else out there is thinking the same, I strongly encourage you to give a flash fiction contest a try. It's great fun, improves your writing, and isn't nearly as scary as it seems.

A hearty seconded on Lucy's comment about this improving your writing. It really helps make clear how to get your story told in the fewest, most powerful words you can. And shows you just what parts are truly important to the story, and what can be cut because it's mere fluff.

The Shark's writing contest entries are always fun to read! Congrats to the notables, long and shortlisted, and to Nate; The word "weekly" hits that sinister high note just right! Congrats again :)

Back to developing a non-fiction proposal - writing out a perfect table of contents with one to two paragraphs following each chapter can take a person longer than you think... especially when the weather is in the 50's outside here in Montana. I might just take the mustang for a spin this afternoon (horse, not the car. The car couldn't handle all the rocky roads around here).

Nate, oh Nate, that was clever and creepy. Not equal parts either, but I go back and forth on which was more prevalent. As clever as it was, I gotta go with it taking a heavier dose of creepy.

I completely misunderstood creak and peak on my first two reads. But weekly made me go back. And then I realized the creak was coming from the mill, not a creek. And I STILL didn't catch on to peak until yet another read. Why am I admitting this?

I don't like those two boys, no sirree, not one little bit. Keep 'em away from my part of the hills.

Great job, everyone, including long and short listers. Also, a shout out to Just Jan. Loved that little tale.

Congratulations, Nate! When I first read "weekly" I thought, Oh man, he used that word wrong, what a shame. And then I got to the end and realized what you intended and literally shivered. Well done.

I also loved that sentence from Kastie's story. Made me stop and savour and give it a look of admiration.

Steve Forti, thank you for the new word! Had to look up mirepoix and having to do that always makes me happy.

It's funny, because Mr. John "just plan good writing" Frain and I have been emailing back and forth about something unrelated to flash fiction and he's been giving me grief about my entry last week and bemoaning his own talent.

The other day we were both all, "Don't think I'll enter this one, too busy." "Yeah, me either, too much to do.""I won't be surprised if I see an entry from you.""Good luck on that contest you're not entering. (Yeah right.)"

So I'm particularly happy that he made the short list and now I can give him grief right back. In that supportive stop-doubting-yourself-you-twit way that writers do. When they see good writing.

Gabby, don't let the quality of other entries deter you from entering because there's really two contests going on here:

Contest #1: Impress Janet with your mad writing skillz for fun.Contest #2: Improve personally as an author. If you can notice an improvement in your contest entries over the course of a few months, you're winning Contest #2.

I never place in Contest #1, but by watching others' skills and attempting them on my own, I'm improving in my mastery of the craft at sentence and paragraph level. The hundred words is constraining me to write tightly. (Hey, I managed to cram an entire month into a hundred words yesty.) I'm also learning the value of subtext and supertext.

Give it a go. While trepidation may niggle in your guts, be bold, be mighty and post something. This is one of those things that you have absolutely nothing to lose.

John Frain, after mulling over your more-creepy-than-clever comment, I have to agree with you. Once again, I try to say something clever, and it turns out creepy. It's almost like I'm back in the dating scene.

kdjames, thanks for pointing that out. It's probably the first adverb I've added to a dialog tag in 5 years, and I didn't even notice because it served its purpose perfectly. It just goes to show you: If you're going to break a rule, be damn sure you break it right.

Gabby, jump into these 100 word contests. Throw caution to the wind and give it a go. There is no criticism other than ones own reflection. They really help tons, and everyone here are the most supportive group anywhere. I look forward to reading your entry. Everyone's contact information is listed in the upper right hand corner of the blog. Reach out if you want.Cheers Hank

Holy crap. I completely forget that I entered this. An exquisite sentence mention?! Turns out I don't need a win to bounce around the apartment with joy. (And thanks kdjames for your compliment as well!)

Congrats, Nate--I do so admire a good creepy story, and yours was just that.

Wow! I'm in shock that I was a finalist and, like Kastie, jumping around with joy. Congrats, Nate! Your entry was excellent and terrifying. Congrats to all the other finalists and mentions. I love these contests and reading what everyone comes up with.

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I'm a literary agent in NYC. I specialize in crime fiction and narrative non-fiction (history and biography.) I'll be glad to receive a query letter from you; guidelines to help you decide if I'm looking for what you write are below.
There are several posts labelled "query pitfalls" and "annoy me" that may help you avoid some common mistakes when querying.